A woman in Utica, NY was arrested for shoplifting recently. When police processed her, they found that she had been arrested 23 times in the past. According to the news story, at least one of these arrests resulted in a conviction for manslaughter in 1989.

So, what’s the answer here? Apparently the courts have failed at stopping her. If she is legitimately ill, she isn’t getting treatment, obviously. If she is just a thief, she has no fear of jail. So, what is the answer?

This brings up another question: Why do they continue to do it? Since we know that shoplifters very often don’t stop, even after being caught, I can’t help but wonder why that is.

Some would say it is because they have a sickness, and they need treatment to help them understand the illness and overcome it. Others believe that the reason they don’t stop is because the reward far outweighs the cost, even if they are caught.

I happen to believe the latter, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. I think they continue because the courts are so overloaded that it has become all-too-common to plea even shoplifting to lesser offenses, with almost insignificant sentences. Shoplifters stand to make a lot of money by stealing merchandise and then re-selling it. Any fines the courts impose are usually minimal, so it is just a cost of doing business for them.

So, anybody want to weigh in? What do you think? Are shoplifters really just sick people who need help? Or, are they criminals who deserve harsher penalties from the courts?

A Utica woman who has been arrested 23 times under eight different names was charged following a shoplifting incident at the Kids Deal store on Monday, police said.

Woman with 23 arrests charged with shoplifting – Utica, NY – The Observer-Dispatch

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